Like the previous releases in this series from LPs originally released in the 1960s and 70s on composer Earle Brown's own label, there is something hit and miss about this compilation. The outstanding disc here, from both a musical and historical point of view, is the first, containing performances by the mezzo soprano Cathy Berberian of works composed especially for her. There's the e e cummings setting, Circles, by Berberian's then husband Luciano Berio, alongside John Cage's Aria with Fontana Mix, and Sylvano Bussotti's Frammento, all wonderful examples of Berberian's astonishing virtuosity and imagination. A collection of piano music played by Yuki Takahashi has its moments, too – especially the performance of Xenakis's terrifyingly difficult Herma – but the third disc in the set, devoted to Toshiro Mayuzumi's Nirvana Symphony, is a dud – it's hard to believe that Mayuzumi's portentous, half-hour piece seemed worth bothering with in the 60s any more than it does now.